Cincinnati Public Radio Enters a New Era with Ambitious New Headquarters

WSDG reimagines A/V production facilities for key NPR affiliate

CINCINNATI, OH, AUGUST 28, 2025 – Since 1960, Cincinnati Public Radio (CPR) (WVXU/WGUC/WMUB) has faithfully provided listeners in southwest Ohio, southeast Indiana, and northern Kentucky with a steady diet of top-tier journalism and engaging cultural programming. In 2018, the organization committed to an ambitious reimagining of their headquarters in the form of a new, two-story facility that would provide them with more modern technical capabilities and ample event programming spaces to serve as a cultural hub for their community of listeners. To ensure that the new headquarters would have top of the line A/V production facilities seamlessly blended into this new vision, the organization made architectural acoustic designers WSDG a key player in the elite design, construction, and A/V systems integration team they assembled for the project.

A community-focused vision
The team – consisting of architects Emersion Design, construction managers Skanska USA, A/V integrators ProCraft Audio, structural engineers Schafer, and MEP engineers CMTA – was tasked with creating a fresh vision for CPR that would not only provide their production staff with new, top-of-the-line facilities, but also to set a high standard of community engagement and environmental responsibility. “Our new HQ needed to have an overarching emphasis on quality, responsibility, and transparency for our listeners,” explains CPR President, GM & CEO Richard Eiswerth. “It was about having a message of being forward-thinking in all aspects – the technology, the visibility to our listeners, and sustainability in terms of facility construction.”

“It is a public space and we wanted that reflected in its design and interior feel. This is also the first modern mass timber building in Greater Cincinnati – and perhaps the first mass timber broadcast facility in the nation. We’re extremely proud of that and wanted that aspect to be front and center as well.”

To start, WSDG utilized various expert techniques in acoustic isolation and treatment design to promote the proper sonic environments in all areas of the building – from a calm working atmosphere in the offices, to a lively but controlled atmosphere in the performance and shared community performance spaces. “Emersion Designs’ extensive use of glass inside and out really epitomized an open design approach, and we sought to match that with a complementary acoustic atmosphere in each space,” says WSDG Partner, COO Joshua Morris. “Each ‘zone’ has its own unique sonic feel that is appropriate to how it is used, and interacts perfectly with any needed A/V integration – from the distributed A/V of the office spaces to critical listening in the audio production spaces.”

As the facility would exist within a new, ground-up build, this allowed for a very different production environment than CPR’s team has traditionally had access to. The space and community-forward focus of the new HQ inspired a very public, forward-facing work environment that would emphasize multiple production spaces with a high degree of visibility and accessibility. “We really sought a more welcoming production space after our experience in our previous facility that was fairly contained and not very friendly to the public,” says CPR Vice President of Engineering Don Danko. “WSDG built off of Emersion Designs’ concepts for doing so within the production spaces, and was able to create something with ProCraft that suited our needs perfectly”

“The idea is really to elevate the experience in these production areas,” adds Morris. “We sought to create a comfortable place for creativity that would allow the entire creative community around CPR – DJs, audio engineers, musicians, interviewees – to shine and sound their best.”

State-of-the-art recording and performance spaces
The heart of CPR is its two on-air studios, dual interview studios with corresponding control rooms, and its large performance studio. The large performance studio can be utilized for everything from large ensemble performances to rock bands, to film scoring, to film screenings. The studio also features a full production lighting setup for video. Following in the footsteps of other ambitious public radio studios, CPR intends to utilize these capabilities to create a strong footprint of video streaming for all manner of music, theater, and video content, supported from the adjacent Video Control Room. All rooms utilize ‘room in room’ construction for acoustic isolation in order to prevent sonic contamination between areas.

In addition to the audio production spaces, there are also separate video and immersive-capable audio control rooms that can be routed around the facility as well as be utilized to turn CPR’s public gathering spaces into additional recording areas. The video production system is fully integrated to be operated from this central location with cameras installed strategically around the facility. The design for the A/V systems progressed markedly from WSDG’s initial brief, with specifics honed by WSDG and Procraft together with the CPR production staff as they came to embrace a more ambitious scope of present and future production possibilities. “This whole process was an incredible collaboration with all of our partners,” states Morris. “The end result is a facility that is state-of-the-art, with ample room to grow and evolve as technology and radio trends move forward.”

“The entire atmosphere and integration between the functional areas and office spaces is completely seamless,” adds Eiswerth. “It’s been a very positive change for us all psychologically to be in such a welcoming space. It completely exceeded our expectations and the early response from everyone performing and recording in the production areas is the same – I can’t wait to come back here to record.”

A new beginning
Cincinnati Public Radio finally greeted its public with a fabulous Welcome Weekend April 26-27, 2025. During this time, the new headquarters played host to more than 2,500 visitors with a variety of community-focused events, including keynote speakers from NPR and live musical acts. The event has quickly set the stage for CPR’s future, as dozens of local partners have already begun utilizing the new space to do more of the same. “The word is out, now,” Eiswerth says. “Every aspect of the building is being used as intended and CPR is serving as the dynamic resource to the community that we always knew it could be. Our calendars are full of events with so many great partners – the Cincinnati Opera, Shakespeare Center, Children’s Theatre, you name it. It’s everything we could have hoped for.”

“The transformation for CPR has been utterly incredible to witness, and we’re incredibly proud of our role in achieving that” Morris concludes. “It’s a sterling example of the impact Public Radio can have on culture and how it can truly elevate the community around it.”

For more information about WSDG, please visit: http://www.wsdg.com/

ABOUT WSDG, LLC
WSDG is an award-winning international firm specializing in Acoustics and AV Technology consulting and design. Founded by pioneering architect and acoustician John Storyk and multi-disciplinary designer Beth Walters, WSDG blends scientific rigor with artistic vision at the intersection of architecture, acoustics, and technology to create extraordinary sound environments. Beginning with Mr. Storyk's design of Jimi Hendrix's iconic Electric Lady Studios, notable WSDG projects include personal studios for Jack Antonoff, Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen; landmark studio design, including Jungle Studios (NYC), Rue Boyer (Paris), Spotify (LA) and Church Studios (London) as well as technology and acoustic consulting for global media organizations including Beijing Film Academy, ESPN, Netflix, Sony, The National Museum of Qatar, and many more.

With a consolidated global leadership, offices in New York, Miami, Basel, and Berlin, and a worldwide network of representatives, WSDG continues to unlock the potential of sound by redefining acoustics in the arts, live entertainment, sports, education, and luxury residential fields.

For more information, visit www.wsdg.com.